“A Czech, Not Austrian Traveler”: E. St. Vráz and the Self-Identification of Czechs in the United States in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century

Abstract This article is based on a case study of E. St. Vráz (ca. 1860–1932), a popular traveler and intellectual of (allegedly) Czech origin who, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, worked toward strengthening the national identity of Czech migrant communities in the United States. The text examines how Vráz was perceived by these communities and which of his activities and opinions appealed specifically to them. Vráz’s self-identification as Czech, not Austrian, opens the way to a more nuanced analysis of Czech-American attitudes to the Habsburg empire in the final decades of its existence. This work is based on texts written by Vráz himself (books and articles, but also his copious correspondence), on commentaries in periodicals, both private and official correspondence, and other primary documents.